Rotary edger with guard



'- Sept. 13, 1960 Filed Feb. 4, 1959- A. H. BLANCHARD ROTARY EDGER WITH GUARD Arthur H. Blanchard 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Sept. 13, 1960 A. H. BLANCHARD 2,952,110

ROTARY EDGER WITH GUARD Filed Feb., 4, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A r/bur H. Blanchard w 1N VEN TOR.

BY Zfm,

2,952,110 ROTARY EDGER WITH GUARD Arthur H. Blanchard, 1026 W. Myrtle St., Santa Ana, Calif.

Filed Feb. 4, 1959, set. No. 791,137 7 7 Claims. c1. 56'2"5.4)

This invention relates to lawn edgers and more particularly to a rotating guard for electric or internal combustion engine powered edgers.

' An object of the invention is to provide a rotating guard for an edger, the guard being mounted for rotation completely independent of the rotation of the cutter of the edger, although the rotation of the cutter and of the guard is about a common axis. The guard serves several purposes, the main purposes being to prevent the cutter from. striking cement walks or other things that would be injurious to the cutter when the cutter is in its usual high speed operation; to trap grass for the cutter blade to shear; and to constitute a safety device on the edger.

A guard in accordance with the invention has a toothed Wheel which is secured to a flat plate which functions as an axle. A flat retainer is secured to the flat plate, and is held inplace by a'hub supported onan engine or motor flange, the hub being a ring fitted in the peripheral space between the retainer and toothed wheel. This sub-assembly may be attached directly to the motor or engine, usually an electric motor, behind the rotary cutter, this ordinarily being a single blade which is secured to the motor shaft, Therefore, only, the cutter is powered by the motor, and the guard has the guard wheel periphery functioning as a ground 'contacting'member, supporting the weight of the edger,when the user so chooses to use the edger or simply functioning as a safety device, contacting the ground, cement walk or the like before. the cutter. Since the guardis made slightly larger in diameter than the length of the cutter blade, the cutter blade is prevented from contacting the walk or'the like, this practically always resulting in damage to the cutter or to the motor shaft.

. These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an edger furnished with a guard in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the edger in Figure l and on a reduced scale.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the edger in Figure 1, portions being broken away and shown in section to illustrate otherwise hidden structure.

In the accompanying drawings there is an edger which shows one configuration of an edger, although the handle 12 may be shaped in difierent ways. Further, an electric motor 14 is shown attached to the lower end of handle 12, it being clearly understood that the motor and handle are conventional and therefore motor 14 nited States Paten'tO 7 2 could be substituted by a gasoline powered engine. With the electrical type of edger, which is more common at the present time, electric cable 16 is required, the cable extending through handle 12 that is made hollow for this purpose and to reduce weight.

Collar 18 is secured to the lower end of handle 12 and has a motor mounting flange 20 integral therewith or otherwise secured to it. Bolts 22 may be used for attaching the collar 18 to the lower end of the handle, and in the alternative, other fastening methods may be adopted. The flange 20 is disposed on motor 14 and is attached to it by bolts 22, screws or the like. The motor has a motor shaft '24 projecting from. one end of the motor. Blade 26 is, as is usually the case in lawn 'edgers, made of a flat metal bar with a hub 26' and setscrew 28 carried by the hub and engaging the shaft 24 of motor 14.

Guard 30 is operatively connected with the motor and cutter. Guard 30 is connected with the motor, and for this purpose a flat motor flange 32 is fixed to the motor. Some motors are already equipped with such a flange, and the same holds true for internal combustion engines.

Where one is available, it is used in those cases where the guard 30 is to be applied to an existing edger. In original manufacture, though the motor 14 may have the flange 32 integral therewith or otherwise secured to it. Hub 34 is secured to flange 3 2, and is made of a ring having a central opening 36. The hub is held spaced from flange 32 by means ofa plurality of spacers 38, for example washers or short collars, and the mounting bolts are passed through aligned apertures 41 and 42 in hub 34 and flange 32. The bolts also pass through the central opening 43 in the washers or other spacers. When the bolts are tightened, the hub is fixed to the flange 32, but is spaced therefrom, leaving an annular recess 46 which is occupied by flat retainer 48.

The flat retainer is a flat circular plate having a central opening 49 through which motor shaft 24 extends. It:

retainer 48. Guard wheel 58 has a plurality of teetl 60 whose outer edges 62 are flat andwhich function tc engage the ground, a sidewalk or any other object shoulc' one be approached and contacted in using the edger The diameter of the guard wheel 58. is greater than the length of the cutter blade 26 so that thetips of the blade will not contact the sidewalk, driveway, or other con crete or hard object. Rather, the guard wheel will engage such objects, holding the tips of the blades spaced there from.

As shown in Figure 3 retainer 48 has a diameter greatei than the diameter of plate 52, and the guard wheel 5! also has a diameter which is greater than the diamete1 of the plate 5 2. This forms an annular recess 70 be tween opposing surfaces of the retainer 48 and the guart wheel 58, occupied by hub 34.

From the foregoing and Figure 3 it is evident that th( shaft 24 is passed through aperture 49 and aligned aper tures 78, 79 and 80 in retainer 48, plate 52 and guart wheel 58 respectively. The cutter blade is rotated b1 rotation of shaft 24, but the guard 30 is independently rotatable with its plate 52 and retainer 48.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of all principles of the invention. Further, since numerou modifications and changes will readily occur to 1111051 skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the inventioi to the exact construction and operation shown and de scribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a lawn edger which has a shaft, a power producing device with which said shaft is connected, a mounting flange fixed to said power producing device and having an aperture through which said shaft extends, a cutter attached to said shaft and rotatable by the shaft, a guard located between said device and said cutter and including a guard wheel having a diameter greater than the length of said cutter, a hub attached to said flange, a flat plate attached tosaid guard wheel, and means connected with said flat plate and engaged between said hub and flange mounting said guard wheel for rotation independent of the rotation of said cutter.

2. In a lawn edger which has a shaft, a power producing device with which said shaft is connected, a mounting flange fixed to said power producing device and having an aperture through which said shaft extends, a cutter attached to said shaft and rotatable by the shaft, a' guard locatedbetween said device and said cutter and including a guard wheel having a diameter greater than the length of said cutter, a hub attached to said flange, a-flat plate attached to said guard wheel, means connected with said plate and engaged between said hub and flange mounting said guard wheel for rotation independent of the rotation of said cutter, said means including a flat retainer attached to said plate, spacers connected between said hub and said flange thereby holding said hub spaced from said flange and providing an annular recess therebetween, and said retainer having a peripheral portion which occupies said recess.

' 3. In a lawn edger which has a shaft, a power producing device with which said shaft is connected, a mounting flange fixed to said power producing device and having an aperture through which said shaft extends, a cutter attached to said shaft. and rotatable by the shaft, a guard located between said device and said cutter and including a guard wheel having a diameter greater than the length of said cutter, a hub attached to said flange, a flat plate attached to said guard wheel, means connected with said plate and engaged between said hub and flange mounting said guard wheel for rotation inde pendent of the rotation of said cutter, said means including a flat retainer attached to said flat plate, spacers connected between said hub and said flange thereby holding said hub spaced from said flange and providing an annular recess therebetween, said retainer having a peripheral portion which. occupies said recess, said flat retainer having a diameter greater than the diameter of said flat plate, said guard wheel having a diameter greater than the diameter of said flat plate thereby providing an annular recess between said retainer and said guard wheel, and a portion of said hub occupying the last mentioned recess.

4. In a lawn edger which has a shaft, a power producing device with which said shaft is connected, a mounting flange fixed to said power producing device and having an aperture through which said shaft extends, a cutter attached to said shaft and rotatable by the shaft, a guard located between said device and said cutter and including a guard wheel having a diameter greater than the length of said cutter, a hub attached to said flange, a flat plate attached to said guard wheel, means connected with said plate and engaged between said hub and flange mounting said guard wheel for rotation independent of the rotation of said cutter, said means including a flat retainer attached to said plate, spacers connected between said hub and said flange thereby holding said hub spaced from said flange and providing an annular recess therebetween, said retainer having a peripheral portion which occupies said recess, said retainer and plate and guard wheel each being superposed, fasteners attached to said retainer and said guard wheel holding said retainer and said flat plate and said guard wheel assembled as a unit, and said retainer and said flat plate and said guard wheel having aligned apertures through which said shaft extends.

5. A guard for a lawn edger which has a power producingdevice having a shaft, said guard including a guard wheel, a flat plate attached to said guard wheel, a flat retainer attached to said plate, said guard wheel and said plate and said retainer each being parallel, and fasteners securing said guard wheel, said plate and said retainer together to form a unit.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said guard wheel has a plurality of approximately radial teeth to temporarily hold grass, weeds and the like, and a cutter attached to said shaft and operable in a plane parallel to the plane of said flat guard wheel to sever the held grass and disposed outwardly of said guard wheel.

7. The combination of claim 5 wherein said guard wheel has a plurality of approximately radial teeth to temporarily hold grass, weeds and the like, a cutter attached to said shaft and operable in a plane parallel to the plane of said flat guard wheel to sever the held grass, and said cutter being a flat plate with a length smaller than the diameter of said guard Wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,718,742 Tangeman Sept. 27, 1955 p 2,759,319 Smith Aug. 21, 1956 2,767,541 Yacoby Oct. 23, 1956 

